Ritonavir is commonly used in low doses to boost plasma levels of protease inhibitors in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. It is also a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450. We present a 50-year-old African American male with past medical history of HIV on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which also included ritonavir and long standing asthma that has been treated with inhaled fluticasone, who presented with back pain. He had central obesity, prominent abdominal striae and wasted extremities on physical examination...

Originally confined to the initiation of parturition and milk ejection after birth, the hypothalamic nonapeptide oxytocin (OT) is now recognized as a critical determinant of social behavior and emotional processing. It accounts for the modulation of sensory processing and pain perception as OT displays a potent analgesic effect mediated by OT receptors (OTRs) expressed in the peripheral and central nervous systems. In our chapter, we will first systemically analyze known efferent and afferent OT neuron projections, which form the anatomical basis for OT modulation of somatosensory and pain processing...

We performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of intranasal sumatriptan, a selective serotonin agonist, compared to placebo or other migraine therapeutics for the treatment of acute migraine attacks. We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Data were extracted from eligible studies and pooled as risk ratios (RR), using RevMan software. We performed subgroup and meta-regression analyses for different doses and treatment endpoints...

PURPOSE: A proportion of patients having years of chronic anterior knee pain(AKP) that have not responded to non-operative modalities. Trochlear dysplasia have been found to be a cause for AKP. By restoring the anatomy with a trochleoplasty procedure the patellofemoral joint is unloaded. This study is a prospective 2year follow-up study, based on two cases with chronic AKP for several years and having severe trochlear dysplasia and both were successfully treated by arthroscopic deepening trochleoplasty...

OBJECTIVE: this study offers insight into how women perceive childbirth pain and how they make decisions about whether to use an epidural during childbirth in the low technology context of the Netherlands maternity care system. DESIGN: ethnographic research consisting of participant observation at births and prenatal and postnatal appointments; semi-structured interviews with a sample of recently post-partum women; coding and triangulation of data to determine key themes in the interviews...

OBJECTIVE: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown to effectively decrease postoperative pain and reduce opioid requirements. Flurbiprofen axetil is an injectable non-selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor that has a high affinity for inflammatory tissues to achieve targeted drug therapy and prolonged duration of action. This meta-analysis examined the use of preoperative flurbiprofen axetil and its impact on postoperative analgesia. METHODS: An electronic literature search of the Library of PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, and EMBASE databases was conducted in Feb 2016...

PURPOSE: Soft tissue surgery for upper extremity contractures can improve hygiene, pain, and appearance in adults with central nervous system lesions. The goal of such interventions is highly individual; thus, goal attainment scaling (GAS; a method of scoring the extent to which patient's individual goals are achieved [5 levels] in the course of intervention and using T score values) is pertinent to evaluate outcome. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of soft tissue surgery for upper extremity muscle contractures in patients with central nervous system lesions using GAS...

BACKGROUND: Numerous psychological risk and protective factors have been identified as contributing to or preventing the development of the prevalent issue of chronic pain. Systematic reviews of studies on psychological interventions that tackle these factors have shown limited effects on chronic pain. Therefore, implementing psychological interventions before pain becomes chronic has been put forward. However, the efficacy of such interventions in preventing the transition from acute to chronic pain has not yet been systematically assessed...

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture techniques are commonly used as initial treatments for myofascial pain syndrome. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess and compare the efficacy and safety of different techniques of acupuncture for myofascial pain syndrome. STUDY DESIGN: Network meta-analysis. SETTING: All selected studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database were searched from their inceptions to February 2016...

BACKGROUND: Individuals with chronic whiplash associated disorders (WAD) present persistent pain in the absence of structural pathology. In these people, altered central pain processing and central sensitization are observed. The role of personal factors, such as gender and age, on pain processing mechanisms in chronic WAD, however, is still unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated possible gender- and age-related differences in self-reported and experimental pain measurements in people with chronic WAD...

BACKGROUND: The management of chronic pain is a complex challenge worldwide. Cannabis-based medicines (CBMs) have proven to be efficient in reducing chronic pain, although the topic remains highly controversial in this field. OBJECTIVES: This study's aim is to conduct a conclusive review and meta-analysis, which incorporates all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in order to update clinicians' and researchers' knowledge regarding the efficacy and adverse events (AEs) of CBMs for chronic and postoperative pain treatment...

BACKGROUND: Altered central pain modulation is the predominant pain mechanism in a proportion of chronic musculoskeletal pain disorders and is associated with poor outcomes. Although existing studies predict poor outcomes such as persistent pain and disability, to date there is little consensus on what factors specifically predict altered central pain modulation. OBJECTIVES: To review the existing literature on the predictive factors specifically for altered central pain modulation in musculoskeletal pain populations...

BACKGROUND: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common and refractory complication of herpes zoster (HZ). Aggressive treatment of acute pain in HZ has the potential to prevent the development of PHN, but the preventive efficacy of supplemental therapy commonly used in clinical practice is controversial. OBJECTIVES: Our aim is to examine the efficacy of supplemental therapy in preventing PHN. STUDY DESIGN: A meta-analysis. SETTING: All of the selected studies are randomized controlled trials (RCTs)...

INTRODUCTION: In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), prematurely born infants undergo a range of skin breaking and painful procedures. At the same time, the spinal nociceptive system is in a sensitive developmental stage. Both neonatal repetitive painful procedures and their treatment can induce plasticity of the neonatal spinal nociceptive system, causing long-lasting alterations to pain processing and pain reactivity. METHODS: This review focuses on developmental processes related to the nociceptive network in the spinal dorsal horn and more specifically at mechanisms related to 1...

Dysregulation of Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and central pain pathways in temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is a growing evidence. Authors include some forms of TMD among central sensitization syndromes (CSS), a group of pathologies characterized by central morphofunctional alterations. Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) is useful for clinical diagnosis. Clinical examination and CSI cannot identify the central site(s) affected in these diseases. Ultralow frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (ULFTENS) is extensively used in TMD and in dental clinical practice, because of its effects on descending pain modulation pathways...

Objective To estimate the benefits and harms of using corticosteroids as an adjunct treatment for sore throat.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised control trials.Data sources Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), trial registries up to May 2017, reference lists of eligible trials, related reviews.Study selection Randomised controlled trials of the addition of corticosteroids to standard clinical care for patients aged 5 or older in emergency department and primary care settings with clinical signs of acute tonsillitis, pharyngitis, or the clinical syndrome of sore throat...

BACKGROUND: Scalpels or electrosurgery can be used to make abdominal incisions. The potential benefits of electrosurgery may include reduced blood loss, dry and rapid separation of tissue, and reduced risk of cutting injury to surgeons. Postsurgery risks possibly associated with electrosurgery may include poor wound healing and complications such as surgical site infection. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of electrosurgery compared with scalpel for major abdominal incisions...

We report seven Caucasian adult patients who were bitten by horseflies (Tabanus bovinus Linnaeus, 1758) during a trip to Bolivia. Clinical picture was superimposable in all patients: it was characterized by multiple, erythematous, roundish, flattened, large plaques, often with a central point corresponding to horsefly bite, surrounded by satellite, similar, although smaller, lesions. All lesions were located on the neck and/or the upper chest and/or the shoulders; one patient had lesions also on the face. All patients complained of pain at the site of the bite...

Animal models suggest that chemokines are important mediators in the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain. Indeed, these substances have been called "gliotransmitters", a term that illustrates the close interplay between glial cells and neurons in the context of neuroinflammation and pain. However, evidence in humans is scarce. The aim of the study was to determine a comprehensive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inflammatory profile for neuropathic pain patients. Our hypothesis was that we would thereby find indications of a postulated on-going process of central neuroinflammation...